The New Jersey Historic Trust was created by law in 1967 to preserve New Jersey's historic resources across the state.

The Mission of the Historic Trust

The Mission of the Trust is to advance historic preservation in New Jersey for the benefit of future generations through education, stewardship and financial investment programs that save our heritage and strengthen our communities.

The Historic Trust seeks to achieve its mission by serving as:

A leading voice for preservation at the state level

A catalyst for preservation and community revitalization activities

A full partner in state policy development

A technical and financial resource for the stewardship of historic properties

The Challenge

The Trust has accomplished much since its creation forty years ago. Millions of dollars have been invested and hundreds of buildings having been restored. But, in New Jersey, there are many additional historic preservation needs to be addressed. The preservation and revitalization of historic neighborhoods and communities have become as important as the preservation of individual sites. Sprawl development and demolition in urban areas are now the major forces eroding New Jersey’s historic buildings, sites and countryside.

In 2006, to begin addressing these challenges, the Historic Trust set for itself the following goals:

Establish stable sources of funding to support activities that contribute directly to the preservation and use of New Jersey’s heritage resources.

Increase visibility for heritage preservation and its ability to contribute to the vitality of New Jersey’s economy and communities.

Support effective collaboration among all state-level preservation related endeavors to maximize the public benefits from these efforts.

The Trust intends to advance historic preservation in New Jersey, through historic preservation sensitive state policies, funding programs, and education initiatives.